Vsjo Normal'no: All's Normal
by Sunajesh'sja
Summary: Let The Rhinos Roll: The rhinos are home safely, Chris is back with the team… so what's wrong with this picture? Unbeknownst to Chris, a game of chess was being played right under their feet, with he and his brother as pawns… in whose game? Ch 4 up!
1. Ktoto Odin: Someone's Alone

**Two things, before I begin:  
>Robot Boy, No-Name Reviewer: Thank you very kindly for the way you handled your position on MartinAviva. Also, I can't exactly put this into words, but also the fact that you went around me to say that. I know I said don't review adding that kind of stuff, but you did anyways and showed you could do it in the right way. Another belief of mine is that in order to be trusted, you have to show you can be, and in my eyes, that's what you've done. I admire that. Honestly, I don't know where Zach/Aviva came from. XD Besides suspecting something may have happened in the past, but really, brain- Y U PAIR DEMZ? Daheq. **

**Irresistable Temptation, No-Name Reviewer: This is actually a funny story. See, there was this following review: WHO'S GONNA BE THE BRAVE ONE AND WRITE A MARTIN AND AVIVA M RATED STORIE? (The review has been taken down now, but it was there.) The "brave" thing got me, you see? XD I can understand you being upset, that's okay. I didn't post it for any other reason than that, that review. XD I wouldn't have posted it otherwise, and that's going to be the sole exception. I actually don't understand myself about it. I don't want to really say it was a dare or a challenge… but don't worry, I'm not mad at you, and you didn't go overboard. I'll keep writing (I'd like to finish at least one of my chapter stories so I can post it, ARGH! Y THEY NO FINISHED YET?). And I'm one of your favorites? D'awwww. =3 Also, now that all the fun's gone out of it, I'm thinking of taking it down, but there's for some reason I can't yet. I actually WANT to, but something's telling me "Leave it up for just a few more days, then take it down". Hmmm… *shrug* Specifically, to wait until after I finish "Distortions" (not necessarily POST the story, but after I finish it). **

**Last note: I think this will be all the one-shots for now. DX I'm out of one-shot ideas. Also, the forums are broken, but I sent them an email, so maybe they won't be broken for much longer. XD**

**Lyrics (Translated to English):  
>Rain from the car<br>The snow goes up  
>Someone's alone<br>I'm without interference  
><strong>**Line of sleep  
><strong>**Sky watch  
><strong>**Wind, spring, two stripes**

**And all's normal  
>I'm here, I'm here<br>****And all's normal  
><strong>**I am, you hear? I am!**

**The sun is stubborn  
><strong>**The wings of the hospitals  
><strong>**In I went with rays  
><strong>**People without faces  
><strong>**I screamed  
><strong>**Mars shines  
><strong>**I screamed  
><strong>**There's no time for us**

**And all's normal  
>I'm here, I'm here<br>****And all's normal  
><strong>**I am, you hear? I am!**

**O.o Some of that doesn't make sense. My Russian's not anywhere near proficient, so that's probably my fault. XD (I mean like, "The snow falls up" isn't supposed to make sense, but "Sky watch"? There's something there I missed.) Anyways, here's the story part. XD Caveat emptor: It'll get confusing in the middle. Just remember this- After Zach turns his back to Martin, it goes Zach's line, Martin's thoughts, and the final part is what Martin's doing. Good luck with that. XD**

As they watched Nubs trot up to his mother, there was a sense of satisfaction in the air.

"Oh, it sure was great having a baby rhino to hang out with!" Martin said.

"Well, you'll always have the Rhino Power Suit to remind you of Nubs." Aviva said. Chris put his arm around his brother.

"He's with his mom where he belongs, and all the rhinos are back, living free and in the wild!" Chris said, temporarily removing his arm.

"Hey… what were you thinking, bro?" He briefly pulled Martin into him.

"I'd never tell you to keep a rhino calf back at the HQ!" Martin's face fell, but Chris wasn't paying attention. He took his arm down.

"And you thought I'd say 'Toodles'? I'd NEVER say 'Toodles'." He looked away and crossed his arms.

"I did think that was kind of dorky, even for you. But…" Chris uncrossed his arms.

"But what?"

"But you DID."

"Did what?"

"Both those things." Chris' vocal pitch rose sharply.

"What? That wasn't me!"

"Dude, I SAW you. That was you."

"No, it wasn't!" Martin whipped his Creature Pod out.

"Look!" He played back the footage.

"Hey, that's not me! That's a Zachbot disguised as me! Zach was tricking you!"

"Heck of a job, he looks and sounds exactly like you!"

"Hah! But he doesn't BEHAVE exactly like me, so there you go!" Chris once again crossed his arms, grinning smugly. Martin narrowed one eye.

"How do I know YOU'RE not a Zachbot, then?"

"What? Martin, that's ridiculous!"

"Is it?" He showed Chris the paused image of his imposter.

"Oh, come on!" He turned to Aviva.

"It's me! Tell him, Aviva!" She also crossed her arms.

"I wouldn't put it past Zach to try that."

"Then why did the Creature Power Suit work, huh? Why, if I were a Zachbot WHICH I'M NOT, would I help you save the rhinos?" No response from either of them.

"Guys!" Chris whined. Martin gingerly poked him in the arm.

"I'm your brother!"

"That's what I thought the FIRST time."

"Aw, what's it gonna take for me to prove I am who I say I am?" Aviva walked up to him and looked him over.

"He'd certainly pass the Turing Test."

"Because I'm HUMAN."

"Only one way to settle this." She started dragging him into the Tortuga by his wrist. Once there, she scanned his DNA.

"See? 100% match! Told you guys!" Martin shrugged.

"We just wanted to make sure. After all, there's no telling what Zach's Zachbots can do. Maybe they're just playing dumb."

"Ah, let's just forget it and go home."

"Agreed." Jimmy said, taking his station as Koki and Aviva booted the Tortuga.  
><strong><br>But in another place...**  
>"Now do you understand, Martin?" The other man lifted his chin to make him look him in the face.<p>

"Chris WILL catch on, and you'll regret all of this."

Zach only chuckled. Martin knew deep in his heart they had severely underestimated the man. Zach had been playing them both for a fool this entire time. Tears stung his eyes, and he shook his head. His arms were bound tightly behind his back; his ankles bound as well.

"What about you? Do you even exist?" Martin snapped.

"Oh yes. I'm as real as you are." He picked up a piece of scrap metal and walked over towards Martin. Without warning, he slit his wrist crossways, blood dripping right in front of Martin's face. Zach then knelt down to him.

"How does it feel, Martin? How does it feel to have your entire world crumble from underneath you into dust?" Martin lowered his head, sobbing.

"What did we ever do to you?" Zach stood nonchalantly, and Martin looked up at him.

"Nothing." He started to walk away.

"Wha- nothing? Then what is all this for? That's not fair!" Zach turned sharply, directly in his face in a split second. Martin shut his eyes tight and wished he could cover his ears.

"Oh yeah? You want fair? You two prance ALL around the world, 'Look at us! We're so great! Animals are awesome!' Animals are nothing! You two are nothing!" Zach finally stood, Martin relieved.

"How's it fair that you two have all this influence and yet choose to save dirty animals, huh? Humans are what matters! Animals get what they deserve!"

"And yet instead of trying to make a difference in the world, look at what you're doing! You could have been saving all those people all this time instead of acting like a damn fool!" Zach strolled over to him, kneeling right in his ear. Mentally, Martin begged him not to yell any more, but braced for it anyways.

"Well, look who's the damn fool now." He said, softly, much to Martin's relief.

"If you're really so worried about all those people, then why AREN'T you doing anything about it, huh? You're well-to-do, you could save an entire village of starving children with pocket change."

"You think this is about starving children? You're so naïve. But you've proven that, haven't you? Well, let me tell you something, Mr. Big Shot, those people live like animals, so they are no better than animals, and they deserve to die… like animals."

"Then what is your problem?"

"My problem is that you two are in my way. And if you're in my way, I have to get you out of my way."

"And just how are we in your way?"

"You've been in my way since we were old enough to walk and talk. Then, 4 years later, your precious baby brother comes along to help you. You wanna talk about fair, well it was two against one. Now, twenty years later, here you are, freaking recruiting people against me. You have an entire fanbase, a literal army, with you."

"It's not about just you, Zach. We're against all creature endangerment. They have as many rights-" Zach snarled and banged his fist against the metallic wall, causing a noise so loud it made Martin's ear ring.

"Don't. You. Dare. The rights belong to the people, the PEOPLE, that are supposed to have them. That were smart enough, and advanced enough, to take them. Animals are too stupid to have rights. All those countries with people that supposedly need help live as barbarians. They have everything they deserve."

"That's not true and you know it. Those countries are led by greedy dictators."

"Who deserve every bit of their power for seizing it while the rest of the populace stood by."

"Those people don't want to live like that anymore."

"Then they should get off their asses and do something about it."

"They'd be massacred. They don't want to lose their lives."

"They don't deserve rights they won't fight for."

"Then let's see you join the army, smartass."

"I don't need to. I had the guts to take what was rightfully mine."

"Oh really? And what was that?" Zach leaned in close, close enough that his whispers tickled Martin's ear, but he managed not to flinch.

"My inheritance." Zach stood and walked away to let it sink in. He leaned against the terminal and examined the cut on his wrist. It was already clotted, but still dripping somewhat. It wasn't a deep wound; he never intended for it to be. Judging by the choked noise, Martin was done thinking.

"Figured it out yet?"

"You…"

"That's right."

"But… you cried… begged the police to find him, we- we invited you in! Mom took you as our brother! We still call your mom our aunt!" Martin was nearly hyperventilating.

"You're a psychopath!"

"No, I'm a sociopath."

"You're a murderer!"

"And I've gotten away with it for 10 years." Zach smiled.

"But… but why?"

"Because this way, I got everything that was his. Everything is mine. I had no siblings, so I was the sole inheritor upon his death. It was getting close to my 18th birthday. I was already in my teens, and he wasn't showing any signs of slowing down. I did what I had to do. I did what I had to, all own my own, with no help from anyone else, and I got my reward for it. His house, his car, his money…" He snickered.

"You wanna know what I did with him?"

"No."

"Well, that's too bad, because you're about to find out."

He brought over a dropper of something. Martin watched, unable to do anything else as Zach removed his boot.

"What are you doing?" Zach only held the object up, the curious yellow liquid inside gathering at the opening.

"One drop."

That was all he squeezed out. As soon as it hit his foot, Martin was in agony. It felt like something was eating him alive.

"What IS that?" He grunted.

"Hydrofloric acid."

"Acid? What kind of sick asshole are you?"

"I told you, I'm a sociopath."

"Get that shit away from me!" Zach stood and thankfully, took it with him.

"This took care of the body. All that was left was the bones."

Panting, Martin managed to look at his foot. In that spot where he'd put it, there was no tissue left, leaving the ivory bone exposed. Martin quickly looked away, suppressing the urge to gag. God, he had to get out of here, he had to protect Chris from this lunatic!

"I kept them for all these years, as a reminder of what I had accomplished, until…"

"Until what?" He was going to tell him anyways.

"Until you two introduced me to T-Devils. Now, there's no proof of anything. You rub it in dead meat, and they can't tell the difference." Zach chuckled. Martin only lowered his head and sobbed.

"Hey, I did my part- I made some T-Devils very happy." Now, he outright laughed.

"You are a maniac."

"Aw, what's the matter, you don't wanna play wif me anymore?"

"I'll find a way to stop you. You're gonna pay for everything."

"Good luck with that!"

"I'm gonna get myself out of here, and you're gonna pay for everything you've done, and you'll never touch Chris, or-" Pain choked him up, and he couldn't say anything else.

"Or… Aviva?" Martin gave a frustrated growl.

"Aviva, who's not only brains, but beauty and brawn too? And what about Koki, who's sexy and sassy and confident? And then poor little Jimmy Z, shy and insecure, if only because of his youth. That who you're talking about?" He had to get out of here and tell Chris…

"And while we're on the subject, there was Donita, the corrupt fashion designer, also beauty and brains. Such creativity, no? Dabio, her idiotic muscle-laden henchman who couldn't tell his ass from his head. And of course Gourmand, who aimed to taste every endangered species in the world." Screw himself, he had to get to his baby brother, if he had to drag himself there one piece at the time… Zach turned his back to him, watching the computer screen.

"See, you had this little world created all around you. You thought you had it all, didn't you? Friends, your dream job, fans, fame…" Martin only shuddered.

"Except, oops! None of that ever existed!" God, poor Chris was going to have his heart ripped out of his chest…

"And you two fell right for it, flat on your faces!" He put up a good front, but deep down, Chris was still vulnerable… Martin slipped his other foot out of his boot.

"Gourmand? Zachbot." He felt his emotions deeply, seemingly to his very core… he settled the heel of his foot between his big toe and second toe, trapping his sock.

"Dabio? Zachbot." While he wasn't necessarily fragile, negativity affected him more than it would anyone else… he bit his lip in concentration as he edged his foot out of it. No, that was just pulling the sock from under the bind, that wouldn't work…

"Donita? Oh, look, another Zachbot." He'd be devastated. He needed his hands more than anything…

"The team- Zachbot, Zachbot, Zachbot…" It would tear him apart from the inside. Maybe he was limber enough to…

"There never was an animal research lab. All Zachbots." To be built up like this and have it all jerked from underneath him… he arched his back, lowering his hands to the floor, and started working his way backwards.

"Also, the building was mine." He couldn't handle it. He couldn't believe it was this easy- he slipped right through.

"All the technology is my creation, from the power suits, to the Tortuga, to Donita's jet." It would kill him. He pulled his legs through, smiling, and started untying the knot at his feet.

"None of it." To find out it was all a game… he couldn't believe it was that simple.

"Ever." It would break his heart… or that he was that limber.

"Existed." He'd die from it. Well, at least now, he could run.

Zach turned to face him and caught him chewing on the bind around his wrists.

"What the hell? How did you… ?" Martin laughed nervously.

"You double jointed freak!" Zach started stalking towards him. He rolled to his knees and was up and running in a second.

"Hey! Zachbots, get him!"

He rounded a corner and nearly slipped. Just as he got to a door, two Zachbots burst out. He tried to stop but only wound up falling and skidding underneath them. He got back to his feet and took off again, rounding another corner, but holding his breath and pressing flat against the wall. The idiot borgs glided right past him. Realizing his socks were a liability, he slipped out of them and snuck off the other way on his toes. Peeking around another corner and back the way he'd just came, and seeing that the coast was clear, he broke into a run again, feet slapping heavily against the cold, metal floor. He ducked into an open door for a quick breather, squeezing his eyes shut against the burning in his chest. Once it subsided, he opened his eyes…

… and found himself being watched. They were just as stunned as he was. He locked eyes with a young brunette.

"Aviva?"

**LOL, what? I can post this without fear because I know I'll finish this. It was intended to be a one shot, but it's going to be about 2 or 3. XD Hopefully, I can wrap this up next chapter. XD In fact, next chap might be posted tonight, depending on if I'm done with it before I go to bed. XD (I'm hoping that's the case!) I'm going to start working on it as soon as I post this one!**

**LOL, Food Chain Game, and guess what? It's on the PBS Website! XD Go to Google Video and type in "Wild Kratts Food Chain Game", and it should be there, because I watched it last night (they better not have taken it down)! Poor Jimmy. XD The first time he hammered his thumb was HILARIOUS. The background "mush" noise is what made it so funny. X3 And the Kratts as blades of grass? "Grass race- Don't blink or you'll miss it!" *rolfmao* X'DDD Poar Chris, he couldn't catch a break as grass. XP **

**FREAKING RIVERBANKS ROUNDUP, made me miss Ker-Honk. It's a local show by the Riverbanks Zoo down here. They put their freakin' show on the very day it aired, and then I missed it that Sunday because it was grocery day, and I wasn't back home at 2:00! - (and that still doesn't adequately describe it. _) Eh, it comes on on January 30, so woohoo! Not gonna miss it THAT day, come hell, high water, or Uncle Mike! (He comes right about the time WK comes on, and it's really annoying. I AM NOT MISSING THIS EPISODE FOR YOU.) Also, Riverbanks Round-Up comes on at *3:00* every Sunday. Why they had to replace my show, I have no idea. They will not get another penny out of me! X( I'll find ANOTHER zoo to go to. When I have the money to go (if ever). Preferably at one the Kratts are hosting a show (in my dreams)! XD**


	2. Ja Zdjes': I'm Here

**Edit: Sorry I've been absent, but the last two days were weird. I would have updated yesterday, but I found out I was denied disability (mood disorder), and I was quite annoyed. (Don't even get me started.) Also, something must have happened to Quentin's computer. I haven't heard from him in days, and he would have been back by now flapping his gums about stuff (erm, flapping his fingers, I guess, since FF doesn't do voice services). I'm still tired. :( **

**Original Note:  
><strong>**Yay, chapter 2!**

**LOL, you know that apple twisty thing where you twist the stem and how many ever times you twist it, that's the first letter of the name of the person you're going to marry? (Like 26=Z?) Well, I did it, and it landed on F. Guess whose middle name starts with F?**

**Chris'! XD Yup, his name is Christopher F. Kratt (but only he and Martin [and the rest of the Kratts, I assume] know what it stands for XD)! "That's first name!" DOESN'T MATTER; married Chris Kratt. XD**

**Oh, and in "Food Chain Game" (it's still there, yay! You just have to go to the PBS website now. Google can't find it for some reason, although that's how I found it yesterday…) when Jimmy bangs his thumb, the hammer on it's way down is the arrow-shooting noise, and when it hits, it's a punching noise. XD That's why it's funny. Plus, the way his voice does when he says "Ouch!" XD Aviva initially grabbed Chris' hand before grabbing his arm. XD I'm trying to get a clear shot of it every time I need a break from writing, but it almost seems it can't be done. FFFFFFFUUUUUUU- Maybe they knew we'd (everyone in the fandom, not just everyone in the WK FanFiction community, I mean) obsess over it, so they decided to have the camera so far away it made the computer screens all pixel-y when we tried to capture it. XD Anyways…**

She stared back at him.

"How do you know my name?"

Martin was too dumbfounded to answer. They were all in separate cages, more like a dog pound than a jail. He tread forward.

"He told me… that you never existed."

"Who? Do we know each other?"

"You don't recognize me?" He approached her cell.

"I've never seen you before in my life. How do you know me?"

"He made a robotic replica of you. How long have you been here?"

"I… I don't know."

"One year, 7 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days." Martin turned.

"Your name's Jimmy?"

"I suppose I was a robot, too?"

"All of you in this room."

"Great." The redhead quipped.

"Why were we robots?" Koki asked.

"Tell us AFTER you get us outta here." Jimmy said.

"You ARE… going to help us, right?"

"I'm certainly going to try." He wrapped one arm around himself and propped his elbow on that arm, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"But how?"

When it occurred to him he looked at his hands, then to Aviva. She shied away, toying with the fabric she'd just taken off him. Her Zachbot had been nothing like her. In fact, she reminded him a lot of Chris when he was little, reticient and withdrawn… Chris! He had to get out of there and get him before the Zachbots did. He was with them now, four of them… he put the thought out of his head. Wait, maybe… maybe his old team could help him after all. Aviva, or Avivabot, would know how to get them out of this mess. What would she do?

First, Chris would observe the situation. There were no locks on the doors, but clearly hinges. What did that mean? He examined the top of the door. There was a black box in the top left corner of each of them. The doors were metal bars in a frame. What did all of it mean? Obviously, the boxes were "communicating" with the doors in some way, but how? They weren't electrified, or else everyone would have been dead by now. He searched his pockets not knowing why, and found the keys to the Createrra. Slowly, he lifted them up to the box. There was a gentle tug on them, but he wasn't quite tall enough to reach.

Magnets! Electromagnetics. He had to disable the magnets by cutting off the power supply. To do that, he had to access the main terminal. To do that he had to… go back where he started. Dammit!

"Okay… I know what to do now. I'll be back, I promise."

He ran out, and hoped he wouldn't get captured by a Zachbot. You'd think that'd be the easiest way, but Zach would only tie him up again, and that was not conducive to his plans. He had no idea what to do- he just knew he needed to shut off the electricity. Just as he got to the edge of this hall, two Zachbots blocked his path. Something flared within him.

"I have had enough of ALL of this!"

He picked up one of the surprisingly light-weight bots and smashed it into the other, then kept running. No, this was too easy. The halls were too empty. Zach would be more concerned about him if he didn't have something else up his sleeve. Besides those two, there were no other Zachbots. He stood in the doorway to the terminal. The chair back was to the doorway. Something was going on.

"Zach, I know you have a plan!"

"Not a plan… an endgame."

He spun the chair around. Martin froze. Zach had Chris sitting in his lap. Not only were his hands bound behind him, but his arms were bound to his sides, and his legs were bound at the thighs, legs, and ankles. He wasn't taking any chances this time. Even though he had Chris gagged, he still had his hand over his mouth, and the same piece of metal shrapnel from before pressed to his neck. Chris was scared. Martin hardened and lowered his gaze.

"You're playing us against each other, betting each of us the other's life."

"You're smart, for a blonde."

"You knew you couldn't threaten us with our own lives."

"Actually, this is kind of better. If I kill one of you, the other one suffers for it."

"You're a coward." Zach only laughed.

"I only have the courage to do what you two can't!"

"Threaten people with their loved ones? That's not about courage. That's about domination." Zach took his hand off Chris' mouth and wrapped his arm around the man's shoulders, pressing their faces together like he was hugging him.

"Seems he's got me all figured out, Chris. But it's too bad he doesn't have the nerve to come over here and say that!"

"I'd never put his life in danger to get myself ahead."

"Then you'll never accomplish anything, because I'm not letting him go!"

'I don't need you to let him go.' Martin thought. 'I need you to drop the damned razor.'

"Aw, look at this cute little face, Martin!" He started patting Chris' face with his free hand.

"He has a baby face! Look at him, he hasn't changed since he was 14!" Martin bit his lip in frustration. Zach started petting Chris' hair.

"I may just keep him."

Zach could see Martin getting riled up.

"Why don't you come over here and take him, then?"

"I won't play with you. I know you're going to threaten him as soon as I take another step."

"You don't trust me, Martin, and after all these years we've known each other. For shame."

"For shame is right. If it's me you want, then leave Chris out of it."

"But then how else would I psychologically break you?" So he wasn't even going to pretend it wasn't a game.

"There are other ways than using Chris against me."

"I'll make this easier for you, then." Much to Martin's relief, he dropped the razor.

"BUT." He knew there was a catch.

"You make the wrong move, and I tell him everything." Chris' expression changed from concerned to confused.

"Tell him what?" Martin asked.

"Or I'll tell him…" He covered Chris' ears and mouthed the words just to antagonize the younger sibling.

"… what I did to you." Martin visibly paled. Chris didn't know yet. Oh, Martin planned on telling him. He wanted to do it himself, in a controlled environment, where they could sort it out properly. He had his own feelings to deal with when this was all over.

"Why so pallid? You don't want me to hurt his wussy little feelings?" Zach only laughed.

"What I find so odd is how neither of you claims to care about yourselves, and yet this is what this is about!"

"What do you mean by that?" Martin demanded.

"If I hurt one of you, the other feels guilty. You don't care about your brother; you just don't want to deal with your own feelings! If you didn't care about yourself, you'd let me do anything I wanted to him."

"That's not true. I don't want you to hurt him because I don't want him to be hurt."

"Interesting. In the second clause, you said 'I', which is the first person subject pronoun, am I right?" Martin didn't answer.

"Well, what about how HE feels about me hurting him? Huh? Let's get his opinion on this." Chris stayed still for him to pull the gag from around his mouth.

"Tell me what, Zach?" He demanded.

"The only reason I don't tell you now is because then it wouldn't be any fun for me." Chris turned and stared his brother down.

"Not here. Not now." Zach roughed Chris up a little.

"You're better off not knowing, trust me."

"He's telling the truth this time, Chris." Chris expression changed. What could be so horrible that Martin agreed with Zach? It had to be something bad.

"Martin?" Chris asked, weakly. Focusing on his little brother hardened his resolve.

"What do you want, Zach?"

"Prove it."

"Prove what?"

"That you'll do what it takes to get what's rightfully yours, just like the rest of us!"

"I won't stoop to your level." Zach only chuckled.

"Oh, you will. But until then, I got me a new plaything." He pressed his lips to Chris' ear.

"We're gonna have so much fun."

"Leave him alone, Zach."

"Then be a man, Martin."

"A real man wouldn't use another's family against him."

"A real man would protect his family."

"Like you did when you ki-" Martin cut himself off.

"Like when I what?" Zach asked, knowing he wouldn't say it in front of Chris.

"Besides, it's obvious you're the dominant. That's how animals do it, right? Someone's always dominant and the other is always submissive. Of course, since you're older, you're the dominant."

"We work together. We're an equal partnership." Chris interjected.

"No such thing. You're younger, you're submissive."

"Let him go, Zach. He's still just a kid." Zach hugged Chris possessively.

"That always was your defense, that he's younger than us. He's no kid. Besides, there's only 5 years between you."

"4, and it's a big enough gap."

"4 and a half." Chris corrected.

"But you're right. He is still young. What, 20, 21?"

"23." Chris said, through his teeth. Zach knew how old he was.

"He's barely in his 20's, and we're almost 30. Let him go." Martin said.

"We're always so innocent at that age…" They both knew Zach had a plan. He turned to Chris.

"You've never had a serious girlfriend, have you?" Deciding on defiance, Chris said nothing.

"You've always had to be a good boy, almost to the point of chauvinism. Do you drive them away, or are you just a prude?" He still didn't answer. He found his attention turned to Zach's hand when it started traveling down his body. Although he knew it was a psychological manipulation, he found himself unable to bring his eyes back up.

"You're still a virgin aren't you?" He still found himself paralyzed, even as Zach's fingertips grazed his zipper.

"Don't… you… dare." Martin warned.

"Oh, come on, I just want to have a little fun with him…"

"He's neither a toy nor your slave, Zach."

"Hey, he's gotta learn someday; may as well start now!" He only cackled.

"If it's me you want, then why are you bothering him?"

"Because that's the best way to get to you, is through him. If I threaten you, you'll just sit there and take it. But if I do it to him, then I might just get a reaction out of you."

"Then fine. Why me?" Zach's mood shifted for reasons Martin didn't understand. He went from playful to aggressive.

"Because you're not doing your job!"

"What does that even mean?"

"If you were, you wouldn't be in this mess right now!"

"You had your Zachbots knock me out, tie me up, and drag me back here! I was defenseless! What was I supposed to do?" Chris winced and tilted his head away from Zach. Martin felt bad for him, knowing how it was.

"It's not about what you were supposed to do, it's about what you're supposed to BE doing!"

"And that is?"

"Whatever it takes!"

"What am I supposed to be proving to you?"

"That you're just like everyone else on this planet! That you'll stoop to the same level we all will to get what we want! You want him back unharmed, don't you? Then come over here and take him by any means necessary, instead of standing there like a big, fat chicken!"

"So then you're trying to get me to prove I'm no better than the common sociopath, is that it?"

"If that's how you wanna call it, then yeah!"

"The problem with your theory is that I AM better than you by principle alone! The fact that I am standing here like a big, fat chicken instead of risking my only brother's life proves that I am, which is why you're so desperate for me to prove otherwise!" Zach only growled.

"You and your worthless, dumbass principles! Don't you understand it's inescapable? So what if I hurt him a little bit, in the end you got what you wanted!"

"And what do you consider 'a little bit', huh, Zach? Bleeding from the carotid? Severe psychological trauma? You're so damn unpredictable, I don't know what in the hell to do!"

"Martin!" Chris barked. The look in his eye suggested that he was letting Zach get to him. Thinking about it, Chris was right. Zach was trying to rile him up so he'd make a wrong move. He had to stay calm and not let his temper run away with him.

"What's wrong, Martin?" Zach teased.

"Did I take your treasured little brother away from you?" He snickered.

"You two are pathetic. You're too close. It's perverted."

"It is not." Chris fired.

"Oh please, the only reason he didn't want me touching you is because he wanted the pleasure of being the first." The entendre was not lost on either of them.

"You're sick."

"Half the time, you look like you're going to make out with each other. It's nauseating."

"He is my BROTHER! We would never!" Martin could see Chris was getting irate… more so than he'd ever seen him. He didn't know where this was going.

"Oh, put a cock in it." Zach cackled like it was the funniest thing in the world. Martin sensed danger.

"You see what I did there? Did you see?" Chris was gritting his teeth.

"I'm not gay, and certainly not incestuous."

"Martin and Christopher sit-" He was cut off by a powerful headbutt from Chris.

"Don't call me Christopher!" Courtesy of 12 years of school being called "Christopher the Gopher".

Martin jumped to action, snatching Chris away from Zach and cutting him lose with the shrapnel razor he'd had before. They both stood. When Zach finally recovered, blood pouring from both nostrils, he was welcomed by the tool glinting in his face and Martin holding Chris possessively. Zach only smirked, snickering.

"Look at you, clinging to him like that. And you expect me to believe there's nothing more between you?"

"There's not." Martin said.

"That's funny, considering the Westermarck Effect doesn't seem to have taken place." Martin had no idea what that meant.

"That's an odd thing to understand for someone who has no family left." Chris shot. At least he understood it.

"Enough of this crap. I got what I wanted. We're going." Martin said.

"Nuh-uh. The rules stated that YOU, Bill, had to do whatever it takes. Not Chris." Martin bit his lip.

"Don't call me Bill." He pressed closer with the object in his hand, aware that Zachbots were now blocking the exit. Zach's smile grew even wider.

"You won't do it. I know you. You don't have the guts… BILL."

"Maybe not for that… but for this?"

Zach suddenly found himself in the floor, essentially in Martin's lap, the other man's forearm pressed against his neck.

"Chris! There are other people aboard! Try to land the ship!"

Zach smirked as Chris balked for a moment. He only stared at the rows upon rows of buttons, not sure which to press in what order.

"The landing sequence is the same as the Tortuga." Zach struggled to look up at him. Chris turned back to him.

"How do you know?"

"Trust me." Unsure, Chris turned back to the controls. He was going to do it anyways.

"Martin… if you're wrong, I'll kill you."

***hanging readers from cliff like Christmas ornaments and humming "Christmas Tree"***

**Eh, sorry for the wait, but for the last couple of days, I wasn't in any condition to write. I wanted to, but I wasn't in the condition to. I feel a little better now, though. And Unnamed, you didn't sound like an ass or a jerk. :) Like I said, now that the novelty is gone, I DO want to take it down. Still, after I finish "Distortions" (ARGH! Brain, what does that have to do with it?). For the first time, I may disobey you, brain. X3~**


	3. Ja Jest', Slishjesh?: I Am, You Hear?

**X( First, denied disability. Second, Dusty might have a tumor. She's our uh… *counting on fingers* really old cat. We've had her since she was 7, and she's upwards about 14 now. DARN IT, I CAN'T HANDLE ANOTHER DEAD CAT! FFFFFFFUUUUUUU- **

**First, Baby died of renal failure on June 30, 2009 at 4 years old. Then, on November 4, 2009 (incidentally, Dia De Los Muertos that year), Smokey dies at 4 MONTHS old. Then, we found a cat we thought was Lil Man (wild outdoor cat) and buried it, but it wasn't him, and I don't know how old she was nor when it was. Then, Teeny Weeny dies like, the year before at a little over a year old (somewhere before Thanksgiving). Dusty might have breast cancer. :( She has a tumor/cyst on one of her boobies. It's all hard and bulgy and has a crusty black thing on one side of it. **

**My intuition says it's a stage 2 malignant tumor, but I'm no vet, so… then again, my intuition told me Baby was dying (I just didn't know what, found out *after* she already died [thanks, LIFE]) and that Smoky was dying (and I still didn't/don't know what). The perverted part of all this is all of it's happening at once. Nanny fell and broke her hip and there's no chance of her walking again (long story in itself), then I got denied, and now Dusty might be sick. **

**WHAT SORCERY IS THIS? XC**

Zach finally went limp. Martin quickly ditched him to help Chris. By that time, he'd already put in the autopilot land sequence and the ship was gliding down gently. Chris turned to Martin. He was trying to appear intimidating, but came off as timid.

"Why did that work? Does it have something to do with what you didn't want him telling me?" Martin could only look away from him.

"It does. I knew Zach was not only arrogant, but a creature of habit. He was arrogant enough to think that I wouldn't figure out that it was the same code, and such a creature of habit that it WAS the same code."

"What are you keeping from me?" Martin sighed and gently drove him back into the chair behind them.

"Chris… all of it… it wasn't real."

"All of what?"

"Everything." Martin shook his head.

"Martin, explain." Now he WAS intimidating.

"There never was an animal research lab. Aviva was never worked for them, Koki didn't come from any government program, and Jimmy was never a piloting prodigy."

"What?"

"In fact, there never was a Tortuga."

"But… it…" He pointed behind him with his thumb.

"They never existed. Neither did Gourmand, Donita, or Dabio." Chris stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Zach set this entire thing up years in advance because he had a vendetta. He played us all along, Chris. He never was the sniveling coward he pretended to be. He killed his father just to take his property. Everyone we knew were Zachbots. Every last piece of tech are his inventions. Even the damned suits are a lie, Chris." He went completely blank.

"He set this entire thing up to make us look like idiots." Chris' eyes shifted to the prone body laying on the floor of the ship.

"He felt we needed to be taken down a few notches, I guess. Teach us we were no better than him." Now Chris looked back to Martin. The more answers he got, the weaker and higher his voice went.

"What about the discs?"

"Zachbots made it."

"Aviva?"

"Zachbot."

"Koki?"

"Zachbot."

"Jimmy Z?"

"Zachbot."

"The Tortuga?" Martin put his arms out.

"We may as well be in it now." He dropped his arms, hands slapping against his shorts. Chris put his head down for a few moments.

"This is impossible."

"I'm sorry." It was a few seconds.

"What happened to your foot?" Martin looked down.

"Don't ask."

"Is that… the bone?" Now Chris picked his head up.

"I found out about hydrofloric acid the hard way."

There was a gentle bump as they hit land and came to a halt. He only walked over and put his boots back on, minding the exposed spot carefully. He knelt down to Zach, retrieving the ties he had removed from his brother and consequently tied Zach.

"Let's see how HE likes it."

He then went over and tacked in the code to disable the power. Instead of truly turning the power off, it more or less went into conservation mode, just like the Tortuga. He only took Chris by the arm and started leading him off.

"Where are we going?"

"We're not the only ones here."

He found his socks and decided to pick them up, putting them back in his pocket. He only led Chris to the room he stumbled on earlier. Chris only furrowed his brow.

"But… then…"

"They're not the people we knew. He only used them as the basis for the Zachbots he used to trick us with. I guess he kept them in case something ever went wrong with the bots."

Martin went up to the first cell. Aviva backed away from the door. He tried pulling it open, and when that didn't work, pushing it. It still didn't work. He started to think he'd been outsmarted again, but gave a harder pull on it, jerking it open. He smiled to himself then to her, opening the door fully and moving on. Chris noticed she kept her distance, seeming shy and skittish, almost as though she were constantly embarassed. She only stared down at the strip of cloth in her hand, rubbing it with her thumbs.

"Thanks, man."

He recognized the voice as Jimmy's, and watched Martin bump fists with him. He came over and put his elbow on Chris' shoulder, leaning against him. He was a lot more collected than the person Chris had known. Martin jerked the last door open, Koki whooping and laughing. He wondered how long they'd been held here. At least as long as the Wild Kratts had existed, he knew that much. Without warning, she threw herself on Martin and kissed him. Startled, he threw his hands up. Chris wished he could have seen the look on his face, but just his reaction was funny enough. She finally parted from him and walked on, trailing her hand across his chest.

"Let's get out of here. I'm dying to see my grandparents!" Jimmy said, leading them off. Chris smiled and took one of the girls in each arm, Martin behind him.

"Wait, I should be in FRONT! You don't know where you're going!" Martin said, running up and joining Jimmy.

Chris felt a hand slide into his right back pocket. When he looked over, Aviva was still playing with the cloth in her hand. Then then looked to the other side, and caught Koki giving him a sultry look. He tried to smile, but knew it wound up being more of a bad poker face. She gave him a pinch, and his face flared bright red, making his nervous expression even worse. He could tell she was enjoying his predicament, but meant no harm- she was just toying with him.

Martin stepped over his fallen nemesis and pressed the button that opened the exit. Chris halted and held the two girls tighter to him, Aviva holding on to him, head on his chest and both hands on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Chris. He's out." Martin reassured.

Chris squeezed his fists, partially out of nervousness, and partly out of resisting the urge to save the person that threatened him earlier.

"His lips are blue." Martin knelt down and checked his pulse.

"His pulse is strong and steady. He's fine. He's just not breathing." He went around Zach and behind the group, herding them off.

"He could suffer major brain damage. He's been without oxygen for over 10 minutes. At most, damage starts at 5 minutes, but usually 3."

"A small price to pay considering his actions."

"But…"

"Look. It was self defence, for one thing. I'll be fine. Two, he stuck us in this world he made up for reasons we'll never understand. If he lives, even with severe damage, he'll be stuck in his own world, having to have his ass wiped for him. It's poetic justice." Chris grunted, trying to say something but either not having the words or giving up.

"Even then, he still didn't get what he wanted."

"What do you mean?"

"He wanted me to kill him. He wanted me to sink to his level and kill him so I'd be just as bad as him, but even now, he's still alive. If he were going to die, he would have died a long time ago. He'll live. He wanted me to do what I had to, so I did what I had to. I just didn't do what he wanted me to do."

He stopped and took out his Creature Pod, calling an ambulance out to get him. Chris noticed he didn't say anything about what happened. He must have had a look on his face.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's just get to the Tortuga and go."

"Where are we?" Jimmy asked.

"South Africa. Oh wait, I have an idea. What states are you guys from?"

"New York." Jimmy said.

"Hey, me too!" Koki said.

"We just moved there about six months before I was taken." Aviva said, quietly. Her accent was marginally thicker than her robotic counterpart's had been.

"What's the nearest airport to where you live?" All responded with LaGuardia.

"Makes sense. Zach's skyscraper is nearest to LaGuardia." Chris said.

"Chris, get your Creature Pod. Too bad we don't have another." Martin was already toying with his. He then handed it to Jimmy.

"And do what?" Chris said, about the time Martin took his from him and started messing with it. He then handed it to Koki.

"You guys can call your families and tell them to meet us at the front entrance to LaGuardia. I've already got it set up so all you have to do is input the area code and the number."

For some reason, Chris felt in his left front pocket. There was something in there. When he pulled his hand up, he was holding an unmistakable object.

"How in the world did I get Avi-"

He cut himself off, remembering everything. He started going through the menus, pulling up the cellphone app that had been added into it in case they needed it for anything. He did the same as the others, fixing it so that all that had to be done was the rest of the number put in. He slowly handed it to Aviva.

"This belonged to your Zachbot. It's yours if you want it. Just put in the area code and number and press 'send'."

He joined Martin, a little ways off to give them all respective privacy. Martin put his arm around Chris.

"Come on. Talk to me, bro." Chris crossed his arms to comfort himself.

"It just… I didn't really understand until now." He turned to Martin, tears in his eyes.

"We're all alone. Even most of the villains were fake."

"We're not completely alone, Chris. We have an entire world of fans surrounding us at all four corners. Zach didn't anticipate that. That's real."

"But it's all over now. Without the crew, we can't do anything. We don't know how to make the discs for the power suits."

Martin started to say something, but they both happened to look up. All three had had enough talking and had actually started to walk off. Koki was walking backwards, motioning them.

"If you guys want to come with us, you better catch up!"

Martin smiled and led Chris off, both of them walking a little faster until they caught up.

"How'd you wind up with the other Creature pod?" Martin asked, taking both back from Koki and Jimmy. Chris noticed Aviva didn't hand hers back after he told her she could keep it.

"I don't remember. I don't remember anything before…"

"Before what?"

"I remember that I looked up and realized I was alone. I don't remember what I was doing. I called out to the others, but they didn't answer. I started to get worried because I didn't know what had happened, and then 4 Zachbots showed up, subdued me, and dragged me back to Zach's jet. I thought he'd taken them without my knowing… Martin, tell me the truth… were those the same 3 Zachbots that were impersonating the crew?"

"Had to have been."

"The last time my family saw me, I was just going to the store for some bread." Jimmy scoffed.

"I never came back."

"I was walking to my friend's house when they snatched me. Some robotic thingamajigs." Koki said.

"I went to the park for some quiet to do my homework." Aviva said.

"That's Zach, alright. He waited until each of us were separated." Martin said. Chris furrowed his brow.

"Wait… if you were captured, and the crew were Zachbots, where'd the fourth one come from?"

"That one must have been mine. He snatched me and left you a replica." Chris paled.

"I was surrounded by Zachbots? They could've killed me and no one would have known I was dead!"

"They outnumbered both of us. It was the two of us against 3 Zachbots, upwards 6 when you count the other villains, excluding other Zachbots in their natural form." Chris now felt nauseated. The more he understood about it, the less he wished he knew. Martin held onto him tighter.

"He wanted us alive. He considered me the alpha male because I'm your senior, and targeted me. He still needed you to use against me."

"When did he take you?" Martin looked away and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Just before we were supposed to come here."

"What?" Chris jerked to a halt and nearly toppled Martin.

"I was surrounded by Zachbots the entire time? And one of them accused ME of being a Zachbot, specifically YOURS!" Martin put his arm back around him and started leading him off again. The Tortuga was in the distance.

"Pot calling the kettle black, brother. The important thing is everything's right again. Well, as right as it's going to be. We're together again, these guys are going back home, Zach's finally going where he truly belongs, and the five of us will resume what we were doing pre-Zach era."

"Wait… at some point we were both abducted…"

"He was holding us in different locations. He had me in the main control room, and I have no idea where you were." Chris suddenly looked confused.

"Hold on… he abducted you and replaced you with a copy before we ever left. He then abducts me and fools your copy with a copy of me. I'm reunited with the team, while you're still being held. He then has those copies bring me back to his jet to manipulate you, using you to manipulate me. Meanwhile, he used copies of these guys to manipulate us both in the very beginning, sometimes manipulating those copies as a way of manipulating the two of us to make us think they're on our side. Is that right?"

"Sounds right." Chris paused.

"… what?"

"I know. The basic point is Zachbots bad, us good."

"So… he sets up this whole game of cat and mouse with Zachbots posing as our archenemies, and other Zachbots posing as our allies, for what reason?"

"To make us look like idiots, Chris. We've been on a wild goose chase the entire time. From the outside looking in, he created this world around us where we were the heroes and they were the villains. The problem is that none of that ever existed. The frank point is that it all was an illusion. He created pretty much everything. We were set up to fail, when we thought we were succeeding."

By that time, they were already in the Tortuga.

"But… what about all of this?" Chris asked. Martin ignored him long enough to get the Tortuga booted and flying.

"Impressive." Jimmy said.

"Every last piece of tech we've been using has been Zach's invention. All of it. The Tortuga, the suits, the discs, the vehicles, the pods, all of it. Even all of Donita's technology was Zach's inventions- the jet, the pose beam… even the VILLAINS were fake, Chris. This entire time, it's been you, me, him, and an assload of Zachbots and Zachbot technology." He approached him and put his hands on his shoulders.

"I know it's a lot to take in. It's… cataclysmic, really. Chris… everything we knew… it was all a lie created by Zach, and he put a lot of work into it." He could see he was struggling to really understand it. He pulled him in and gently embraced him, Chris reflexively doing the same.

"The one thing Zach didn't plan for is this- he looks like an even bigger douche than ever, and we still look like the heroes. We just reunited three missing people with their families, and there's no telling how long they've been gone."

"I already told you. One year, 7 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days." Jimmy reiterated.

Martin pulled back from Chris to face him.

"Maybe we can't make new discs, but we still have the ones already made. We still have the Tortuga. It doesn't have to end here, Chris. We can still go creature adventuring, and we can still get up close and personal. We can continue on in spite of Zach's games, and we'll still have our fans. He did the one thing we couldn't, Chris. He got us started. He made a name for us. Before this, we were just 2 more animal loving scientists dreaming of matching and/or surpassing Jacques Cousteau. We'll have the people's sympathy. They'll herald us, set up charities in our names, beg us to keep going! It doesn't have to end here!"

"It doesn't?"

"Did you listen to anything I just said? Maybe we don't have a crew any more, but we still have everything else. In fact, we now have 3 less villains to fight. Without them getting in our way, it should be easier now. We can still swim with the whales and run with the cheetahs." Chris gave a faint smile.

"In fact, maybe it won't be so different after all."

"Maybe not." Chris said, quietly.

"Guys, we're here!" Koki called from the cabin, looking out of the window.

**Hmm, this ran longer than I anticipated. XD Woohoo for all of us! I didn't expect this to run this long- like I said, I expected it to be a one-shot, and here it is, coming up chapter 4. XD Oh and also, I was in bed all day yesterday. Why? Because I COULD. X3 God, I was SO freaking tired… total of 14 hours I slept yesterday. From 6AM-2PM, then from 5:30PM-8:00PM (I HAD to watch House, bodily requirements be damned! Francince from the Electric Company was the patient's wife! XD), and then from 9:00PM-12:30AM the next (this?) morning. XP And then 6AM-2PM today. (My normal hours are 6-2; the schedule's all weird over here. XP) AND the chapters were full length, w00t! (I consider around 6-8 pages "full" length for fanfictions, with anything 9+ as "long" and 5- "short". Don't ask me why, I just do. XP) And it was easy- with the others, I've kind of been having to struggle to reach 6 pages. **

**Urgh, I need to shut up and write some more. XD Hopefully, chapter 4 will be up within the next 24 hours. X3**

**FORUMS- Y U STILL BROKE? FFFUUU-**


	4. I Vsjo Normal'no: And All's Normal

**Listening to Lena Katina's "Yugoslavia" backwards- :) It's just as pretty backwards, and sounds like it was sang in a whole different language. ME GUSTA And then also:**

**Bleachfreak13: D'aww, thanks. =3 Well, here it is, le 4th (final?) chapter!**

**Rebd: ? If you meant you though the story was new, then sorry. If you meant you thought the chapter was new, it was. I'm just confused, is all. OHHHHH You reviewed chapter 1. No, that chapter is old, LOL. You may want to go back and read chapter 3.**

**StickBug11: Loop de loop de loop de loop! XD I have more loops written that I'm still working on. (LOL, this is making me think of programming [at which I suck :F]. Why did the programmer die in the shower? The shampoo did not terminate the loop "Lather, Rinse, Repeat". XD)**

**I'm not quite certain if this is the true final chapter or not, so even though I put "complete", it may not be. XD I expect it is, but I'm not sure. Also, I was over at TVTropes reading the FanDumb section, and OH GOD I'M CHICKEN LITTLE (mixed with Firefly Effect). Why? Because I know how PBS works, that's why. Also, I've had my heart broken in the past (LOSH, anyone?), and I'm afraid of getting it broken again. Series naturally ends? Fine. Cancelled? -**

What the two brothers weren't expecting was the slew of cameras on the ground, staring up at them as the Tortuga came for a landing. When they came out, they ignored the other three and headed straight for the two. Martin put his arm out in front of Chris.

"Let me handle this."

As they bombarded them with a slew of unintelligible questions, Martin put his hands up to quiet them.

"As you all know, for a little over a year now, Chris and I have been part of the Wild Kratts team, consisting of himself, myself, our engineer and inventor Aviva Corcovado; our pilot Jimmy Z; and our computer analyst Koki. We would travel the world studying the animals we came across and incorporating their DNA into our creature power suits to get a better understanding of each species. Along the way, we stopped crimes where they occurred; our top 3 offenders being endangered species chef Gaston Gourmand; fashion designer Donita Donata and her assistant Dabio; and robotics inventor Zachary Varmitech." He paused, either gathering himself or coming up with the words.

"Today, Chris and I ourselves found out that… the entire enterprise was a scheme concocted and carried out to its full extent by Zach Varmitech. In reality, there never was a Wild Kratts. It had been myself and Chris alone the entire time. The rest of our crew were comprised of Zachbot impersonations of the people that Zach had been holding captive all this time, and the people we knew never existed. To further his ruse, even his partners in crime- Gourmand, Donita, and Dabio- were themselves Zachbots. Zach was the lone outlaw in the conspiracy the entire time. Zach had a vendetta against the two of us, and went to extensive lengths to attempt to, what he considered, put us in our place. To make a long story short, the entire… it was all an illusion created by Zach, and really… we don't understand it fully ourselves." Chris stepped in front of him.

"The crew that everyone is used to seeing were themselves Zachbots, and never existed. The three people you see here are merely the moulds he used. They never truly had anything to do with the Wild Kratts at all, and truthfully, neither did me or Martin seeing as how it was Zach's world, and we were thrown into it. All of the technologies were his inventions, as the woman we knew as Aviva Corcovado was a Zachbot and never existed in the form we knew. To demonstrate the extent he went to for this, he played his Zachbots against each other in a game of good versus evil, and even duped the robots inside the Tortuga with other Zachbots. Myself and Martin were merely pawns in his elaborate game.

"The recent events that transpired that led to our discovery of his plan were that just before this last expedition, he abducted Martin and swapped him with an fraud before we ever left America. I was the sole human in a ship full of his robotic minions. He then captured myself and had a Zachbot in my image fool the Zachbot impersonating Martin. He then returned me and kept Martin, only to capture me again shortly thereafter and use us against each other for his motives. It was Martin that stumbled upon where he was keeping the other three. I was only the piece he was using to play against Martin, and he played Martin against me, knowing if something happened to one of us, the other would feel guilty. In essence, he threatened me to get what he wanted out of Martin, and threatened Martin to get what he wanted out of me."

"That's the entire story." Martin said, shrugging it off. He only put his arm around Chris and started leading him away, just wanting to get it over with.

**Kryl'ja bol'nits- In the wings of hospitals  
><strong>He wanted to turn it off. Not only that, but fling the remote into it hard enough to break the screen and the thing come crashing down, then open the window and fling every little piece out of it.

"That was Martin and Chris Kratt, clearing up the confusing situation down here. It's our understanding that the story we've been watching for almost a year and a half was basically a fairy tale that they were unwittingly dragged into written and performed by Zachary Varmitech. No word on what they plan to do now that the Wild Kratts team is no longer operative, or what's going to happen, to the rest of the world, really. They were a big part of our lives whether you loved or hated them, and were the biggest contributors in the war against animal cruelty and inspired youths in every country to fight for animal rights."

He wanted to vomit.

"Yes, they are truly inspiring young men, Amy. Even now, in light of all that's transpired, everything they've been through in the last 24 hours, they're still being welcomed as heroes for reuniting 3 missing persons that no one really even knew were missing, besides their families, who declined to be on camera."

"It also clears up a lot of confusion; you'll remember that 4 hours ago, Zachary Varmitech was admitted to a hospital because he had stopped breathing, and the person that made the call was identified as Martin Kratt. Piecing it together, it seems to be self defense. They got him breathing and even conscious in the helicoptor back to New York from South Africa, but it's estimated he was fully anoxic for at least 15 minutes, accounting for the severe brain damage." He had seen Chris coming up behind her a long time ago and knew he heard every word she just said. Chris tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

"One last thing… Zach, if you're watching this, I just want you to know something. Martin DID do what he had to do. But now that I know for a fact you're alive, he still didn't stoop to your level. You were wrong, Zach, and you'll spend the rest of your life paying for everything you did. You took innocent animals and subjected them to mind control, effectively trapping them in their own minds. Now, it's your turn. Now it's you that's imprisoned within your own mind, and the amusing thing is that me and Martin could always undo the mind control. We could save the animals."

He sneered. It seemed he'd been royally pissed off. It was uncharacteristic for the normally placid and gentle Cancerian.

"You? There's no hope for you. You can't undo brain damage." He lowered his head and gazed up at the camera. He spat venom along with his words.

"No one can save you, Zach. You're all alone in there, and you have no one to blame but yourself. And we get to walk off into the sunset." With that, he turned and walked away, back to Martin who was standing a little ways away and put his arm around his shoulders as he approached.

"Some rather strong parting words from Chris Kratt, demonstrative of the feelings that a lot of people are having towards the situation at large."

He was not happy with this at all. "Incensed" generally didn't cover it. He could almost feel his brain burning. He wouldn't have been surprised if they found him with smoke coming out of his ears. He had no choice but to concede that Chris was right. Martin did what he had to do- but not what he was wanted to do.

He wanted very badly to get up and storm out. He wanted to hunt them both down and take no chances this time. He wanted to put an end to those goddamned Wild Ratts finally, once and for all. The door clicking open caught his attention.

"Alright, Mr. Varmitech, time to go outside." It was never any trouble for her to get his slender but useless body in the wheelchair.

How he hated her and her false niceties. She hated him, he could feel it, but was only demonstrating proper hospital ettiquette. He didn't want to go outside. There was nothing out there for him. And there was nothing he could do about it.

**Chjerjez njedjelju- One week later  
><strong>Martin had been basically unable to convince Chris to keep going. His last resort was to show his brother the discussions being held on the Tortuga Fanbase HQ forums (named by Jimmybot, but they had to admit it was good).

"Look. It even gets its own special forum! Not topic, but whole forum to itself! Look, see, they even named it 'Don't Stop, You Guys!'. They have a poll, and look, out of all the registered users, and how many that signed up just to vote, 92% say we should continue. The rest are trolls. Ignore them. And then look, they're even working out the kinks! There's a topic about whether or not we should get a new crew, there's a topic about if we should rename or not, and look, even that last topic is called 'Who the Hell Cares, Just Get Out There Already!'."

"It's just… hard. It's all filled with so many memories, and… they're not even real."

"I know. But hey- the moments between you and me, when we were out there alone? Those are still real."

"Like what?"

"You remember when we were in the oak forest, and we were descending into the trees down ropes, and I asked you what the best way to catch a squirrel was?" Chris scoffed, but managed a small smile.

"You swung into me and said 'Climb a tree and act nuts'."

"That's still real. All those creature adventures, those are real. Crossing the Austrailian Outback with a baby koala in tow? It was just me, you, and Koala Balloon. No crew, no Tortuga, just the three of us. Being chased by dingos was a little TOO real, but it was real nonetheless." It didn't really help any. Martin put his hand on Chris' shoulder, giving him a gentle rub.

"Come on, Chris. We can still do most of the things we did before." He put his head down.

"There are too many memories on that ship. There's too much baggage. It's…" His voice started to crack.

"They were the only friends we had." Martin had the feeling he felt that way. Wordlessly, he clicked through to a little something he'd set up behind Chris' back.

"Look." Chris slowly lifted his head back to the screen.

"Read it." It was a forum entry

_We Need a Little Help Over Here  
><em>_by Martin Kratt May 29, 2012_

_Take it from someone who knows first hand- the situation that's played out is nothing short of confusing. Honestly, it's infuriating. It's hard to accept the fact that the people we'd been working with for the last year were not the people we knew. Or even people, really- they were Zachbots the entire time, Zachbots based off people that did exist. On top of that, those people were completely different from the Aviva, Koki and Jimmy we knew. Those were their names; that was what they looked like, however their personalities and mannerisms were totally different. _

_To put it in a different perspective, it's like they're dead. They may as well be. The Wild Kratts crew- luckily minus Chris and myself, but let me tell you, that could have gone **very** differently in the blink of an eye- is essentially dead. Forget the real people that they were based off; the people we knew are dead. Forget that they never existed in a true sense of the word; they're dead. It's our opinion, as the Kratt brothers collectively, that they did exist in some form, but now those people are gone. _

_They were our friends. More than that, they were our family away from home. They were our constant companions; our lifelines out in the deserts, oceans, and jungles; and most importantly, our non-consanguine brother and sisters. Maybe they did never exist in the first place, but we felt their prescence as clearly as we feel our own. They were around; we interacted; we talked, we joked, we touched. Chris and I both feel their losses deeply, and knowing what we know about it makes it even harder. It invalidates every memory we have, knowing that there never were such people. That's the hardest thing to cope with, is the complete invalidation of our relationships with them... it's almost as though I feel ridiculous for mourning something that was never real._

_Irregardless, I have the strength to move on. All of that is behind me, and my life is in front of me. What's done is done, and what needs doing still needs doing. I can't put my life on hold- **WON'T**... put my life on hold- for Zach and his psychological experimentation. He's where he belongs, I'm where I belong, and the real Aviva, Jimmy, and Koki are back where they belong. However, I have a slight problem._

_Chris isn't at the same place I am. _

_I can't do this alone. Far more important to me than some stupid ass dickwad with no social life pulling shit with robotic clones is the fact that both of us survived that forsaken hellhole. He could have easily killed either of us that day. We still have each other. I will always have your back, and trust that you will always have mine. Maybe we do gnaw each other's ankles from time to time, but we always fall over each other laughing about it. You're not just my little bro, bro, but you're my bestest friend in the whole wide world (and I can say that with true honesty!) ever. _

_Trust me, I know how you feel. They were as much a part of us as we are each other. It's a deep personal loss, and made worse by the fact that we were ripped off. Internet sock puppetry is one thing; you almost expect it to happen. It's disappointing, but you weren't really surprised. Even being lied to is completely different from the situation we were put in- I won't say names, but you and I both remember the girl that lied about her entire life and even cheated on us both- with each other! Even that doesn't compare to what was pulled on us for the last year- that girl existed as a human being, and was made of the same materials that you and I are, and was born of a mother from her father's seed. _

_This? To find out the people you love never even existed at all? It hurts. It is painful. I do feel invalidated, and somewhat ashamed. Maybe my shame over feeling this way about pretend people is why I don't feel it in the same way you do. Maybe I'm repressing those feelings and don't realize it. I do know that there is nothing that compares to this. At least TV characters aren't pretending to be real- everyone with any sense knows that even though the actors playing them are real, that the characters are not. And at least they're played by humans in the flesh. We had no idea what was transpiring right in front of us, and it's a complete blindside. _

_However, I'm not giving up. There are still people and animals that need us, and I'm not ready to give up what I love doing. I love going all around the world, meeting new people and animals and learning what they eat, why they eat it, how they eat it, why they eat it that way, and anything else you can think of. Opposite of that is what I hate, and that's being alone. Irregardless of the type of relationship I have with them, I have to have someone with me. _

_Given what's happened, that someone is you. You're right when you say that now, we're all we have. (Aside from the rest of the family of course- Hi mom and dad!) But... you're wrong when you say that things will never be the same. Maybe they won't be exactly the same, but it'll be pretty damn close. It's the same Earth out there with the same creatures that are in the same predicament they were always in. We still have the Tortuga, we still have the suits, and we still have what discs were already done. We can still do this. I understand your feelings about it. I hold most of the same memories you do, admittedly from a different perspective, but they're nonetheless the same stories. _

_Yes, I remember the time I lost the suits goofing around and she made us go get them. I remember Seven getting caught in those suits and making us think he was a new species. I remember he scared the shit out of us at first, as well. (And now I'm a little bit pissed that I was following the orders and begging forgiveness of a friggin' robot. Seriously?) I remember all of that, just as much as you do. I was just as connected and emotionally attached as you were. Believe me when I say we're in the same boat. It sucks, and there's no way around that. _

_But I also know that to give up is to give in to Zach, and I'm not ready to do that. If we have to find another ship to go in, so be it. If we don't use the power suits anymore, so be it. I just want to get out there and explore the world and its creatures, and I want you by my side. I don't want to do this by myself. I want you there with me, no matter what it takes to get you there. I know you're in pain. I see that, and I understand it, and it hurts me to know that. I will do whatever I need to do to get you past this and back where you and I belong- running free and in the wild._

_Our buddy Chris is still in the dumps about this mess (and God, is it ever a mess), and I think he could use a little hand with getting back up and dusting off. And if this doesn't work, I'll bug him until it **does** work._

_Martin Kratt_

He scrolled down through the many responses. Most of them (aside from the obviously misspelled and grammar abhorring troll post) were pressing him on, expressing regret for the situation and love for the both of them. One thing about Martin's post stuck in his craw, though... he logged his brother out and signed himself in, replying to that post.

_"... to give up is to give in to Zach..."_

_Screw Zach._

_Ultimately, things are back to normal. Now, I find myself pressed to remember the cons I was so obsessed with. They-who-never-were aren't again, and the world didn't stop turning, and time didn't stop ticking. Zach didn't count on the fact that we have supporters now. Not only didn't he factor in mine and Martin's love for each other, but he also didn't count on all of you._

_The Wild Kratts are back in business! Now where to first?_

Send. Chris turned back to Martin and smiled. No, it wasn't going to be easy. He fully expected the first few days of it to be some of his hardest. Until it happened to you- that you had this world built up around you only to find out that nothing existed and it was all a game- it was inconceivable. However, everyone was right. He had a life to live, and just laying down gave Zach the victory. Plus, without the Tortuga and the suits, they weren't properly the Wild Kratts. The Wild Kratts were superheroes, more specifically shapeshifters, and superheroes needed superpowers, which the suits (more accurately the discs, but they needed each other to work) provided.

He stood and embraced Martin. Martin knew then that everything, including Chris, was back the way it was supposed to be.

"Welcome back, brother."

And all is normal.

**Yay, le happy end! Beware, as this will not always happen. (Hey, happy endings don't always happen in real life, either, and I write what's real. Eh, kind of.) But for now, yay, le happy end!**


End file.
